Publisher's Note: This expanded novel debuted as an abridged novella in the now-expired Winter Deceptions boxed set that released in August 2022.

An untrusting vigilante. An unpredictable survivalist. An untraceable killer.

When trust-fund-baby-turned-vigilante Mira Proskouriakova hires jobless former soldier Briscoe Hall to assassinate her mother's killer, targeting her own father is the last thing she expects.

Zero Trust is book 4 in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson's Binary Hackers series of near-future romantic technothrillers. We first met Mira and her father as side characters in Zero Sum(Binary Hackers Book 1).

A daughter's dangerous mission...

Nine years ago, Mira's mother was murdered. Her body was never found and the assassin was never caught.

In Zero Sum (Binary Hackers Book 1), when Mirabella "Mira" Proskouriakova finds out that Dmitri Proskouriakoff is her biological father, she goes undercover as his housekeeper in the hope of learning how her mother was murdered nine years ago. A home invasion reveals that Dmitri knows Mira is his daughter, but neither one does anything about their shared secret.

Fast forward to the present day, Mira's relationship with her father is still tenuous at best because Mira thinks Dmitri could have done a better job protecting her mother. To make it worse, it doesn't seem to bother him that his former lover and the mother of his child is mysteriously dead.

If Dmitri doesn't care, then it's up to Mira. She decides that her mission in life is to find her mother's killer and execute her own vigilante justice. But first, she has to hire an assassin who can handle the weapon for her.

Even while she's determined, our newly-minted vigilante is ambivalent about what justice means. Wouldn't it be better to take her mother's murderer to court?

Her father's designated protector...

A US Army veteran with no job prospects, Briscoe Hall wanders aimlessly in life, and finds himself returning home to the survivalist community in North Georgia that took him off the streets when he was an orphaned kid and raised him all the way through college.

His adopted older brother and leader of the community knows that transient Briscoe will soon disappear from their lives yet again, being the wayfaring stranger that he is. He offers Briscoe an assignment that he cannot refuse. Ten million dollars in cash to keep Mira alive and ten million in gold to help her meet her goals. With that sort of funding, he can go wherever he wants for years to come without having to do any work.

Besides, Briscoe knows Mira, and feels a tug to keep her safe from this crazy idea of hers.

Her mother's killer is still at large...

An easy payday for Briscoe turns into a nightmare when the killer discovers their whereabouts in the wintry North Georgia Mountains. Confusion sets in when people are not who they seem to be. Are their enemies now their friends? And friends, enemies?

While he prefers to hide off the grid, Briscoe knows that digital native Mira cannot be completely disconnected. Perhaps that is an advantage. Or not.

With the enemy operating incognito, how can Briscoe keep the right people alive?

If you enjoy this story, check out the rest of the Binary Hackers series.